California: Father of Jihad Suspect to Muslims: ‘Don’t Even Think About Telling Govt’

Sal Shafi, the father of 22-year-old Adam Shafi who was detained by federal authorities last year for attempting to fly to Turkey out of SFO with the alleged intention of joining a terrorist group, admits that he was the person who first alerted the government to his son’s growing radicalization. He tells the New York Times that he is not religious himself, and that he always trusted the government, which is why he sought their help after he realized that his son had begun following radical imams online, and was attempting to travel to Turkey — a common gateway into Syria for those looking to join the Islamic State — for the second time.

The elder Shafi’s attorney told him not to say anything else to the feds if they asked, but a few weeks later he received a visit from FBI agents and invited them in. Mr. Shafi admitted that he had fears about his son’s depression, and allowed them to interview Adam at a coffeeshop. But by the time Adam got to SFO in June 2015, agents were already tracking his whereabouts. And while his father had hoped that the FBI would be sympathetic and perhaps be able to put Adam in some sort of radicalization deprogramming, such programs don’t actually exist, and Adam now faces a possible 20 years in prison.

The family’s attorney insists “There is no evidence that [Adam] was planning to do anything but fly to Istanbul, which is where he had been the year before for two days where he attempted to help the refugees and returned home. There is no statement by him that he was intending to go to Syria or join any designated terrorist group.”

In December, the Justice Department unsealed the case and prepared for trial. In court documents, prosecutors said that neither a well-intentioned father nor the threat of an F.B.I. investigation were enough to steer Adam Shafi away from terrorism. Mr. Shafi’s efforts aside, prosecutors said, his son was simply too dangerous to remain free.

Mr. Shafi said, the agents mentioned the Boston Marathon bombing and said they believed his son had been radicalized. Mr. Shafi laughed. “I don’t think so,” he told them. “I can assure you that Adam is not violent.”

The F.B.I. had good reason to doubt those assurances — agents had been secretly eavesdropping on Adam Shafi’s phone conversations.

“I just hope Allah doesn’t take my soul until I have at least, like, a couple gallons of blood that I’ve spilled for him,” he said in one conversation last June, according to court records. He also mused about killing American soldiers.

In another call, he said the Islamic State killed too indiscriminately, but he admired the Nusra Front, which is linked to Al Qaeda. Nusra, like the United States, is fighting both the Islamic State and the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad. But it is a designated terrorist group, and supporting it is illegal. “I am completely fine dying with these guys,” he said, according to court documents.

The process has shaken Mr. Shafi’s faith, both in his decisions as a parent and in his government.

“Every minute, I just imagine him in that solitary confinement, facing 20 years, because I cooperated with the government,” he said, adding, “It’s a horrible feeling. I can’t get rid of it.”

His message now to parents of troubled or confused children? “Don’t even think about going to the government.”

All the more reason to ban immigration of Muslims.

It’s going to get much, much worse in America as the Muslim population explodes – no pun intended.

3 thoughts on “California: Father of Jihad Suspect to Muslims: ‘Don’t Even Think About Telling Govt’”

Another peaceful Obama Muslim, just liv’in the American “Jihad” Dream; One bloody memory at a time!
These people should be deported, Obama impeached and Islam outlawed as the destructive and incompatible, “Totalitarian Ideology” it is.

WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!! THIS IS YOUR SILENT MAJORITY, THE “NICE” MUSLIMS!! THEY WON’T TURN IN BAD ONES, THEY WON’T DENOUNCE THEM, THEY WILL JUST QUIETLY HOLD THE INFIDELS DOWN WHILE THEY ARE BEHEADED BY THE ‘BAD’ ONES… IN MY COUNTRY THAT IS SAME AS DOING THE BEHEADING!!!!!!